2nd arrest in robbing, killing of missing man

ORANGE - Police have arrested a second suspect in connection with the death of a 42-year-old man who they believe was lured to a motel and then stabbed repeatedly.

Leticia Carrasco-Ornelas, 48, was arrested in Las Vegas late Wednesday on suspicion of murder and robbery, police said today. Her son, Noel Carrasco, 22, was arrested earlier this week in Las Vegas; officials expect to extradite both suspects to Orange County to face murder and robbery charges.

Police on Thursday found a body wrapped in a blanket and dumped near a freeway off-ramp, not far from the desert town of Yermo, east of Barstow. They believe the body is that of Matias Ojeda Vazquez, 42, a married father of five who lived in Orange and vanished more than three weeks ago.

Investigators believe Vazquez met Carrasco-Ornelas at a Stanton bar called La Barca on the evening of Dec. 22. They now believe she may have used an offer of sex to lure him to the nearby Covered Wagon motel in Buena Park to rob him.

Police had repeatedly said over the past week that they did not believe Carrasco-Ornelas used sex to get Vazquez to the motel. “Originally, we did not think that,” Orange police Sgt. Dan Adams said today, “but through our investigation and interviews with the suspects, we now believe that was the case.”

Investigators believe her son, Noel Carrasco, was hiding in one of the motel rooms and emerged when Vazquez entered, then tried to rob him. Police said this morning that they believe Carrasco stabbed Vazquez several times with a knife, then wrapped his body in a blanket from the motel room and put it in the trunk of Vazquez's car, a 1990 Honda Accord.

Carrasco and his mother then drove with the body toward Las Vegas, according to police, where they have relatives,

Las Vegas police arrested Carrasco on Monday on a street in northeast Las Vegas. Adams said they recovered what they believe was the murder weapon when they arrested him.

Police in both Las Vegas and Orange County had appealed to the public for information that might lead them to his mother.

Residents in Las Vegas called police to report seeing Vazquez's missing Honda Accord, which had been described in media reports. Following those tips, Las Vegas police found Carrasco-Ornelas driving the missing car and arrested her.

Police had suspected that Vazquez’s body may have been dumped along the 15 freeway, on the way to Las Vegas, Adams said. A team of investigators, working with the help of a police helicopter, searched "a specific area where we thought the body might be" and found it on Thursday afternoon, Adams said.

He added that Carrasco cooperated with investigators during interviews after his arrest. Adams would not speak in detail about those interviews, but said this week: “After (investigators) talked to him, I’m certain that he did it.”